


ABANDONED And they Killed Happily Ever After

by MsLanna



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: AU, Enemies to Friends, Gen, but don't I always start like that?, lotr chapter titles, maker help me, not too serious, or allies at least
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-14 06:32:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9166351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsLanna/pseuds/MsLanna
Summary: When Emily tells Meagan who her adversary is, Meagan let's slip she knows Delilah – and somebody who bested her once. Consequently, Emily declares that the person she'll work with to get back what is hers. She is probably too proud to go back on her word or too stubborn when she hears that it's Daud. That is fortunate because otherwise there would be no fic.OMG HAVE YOU SEEN THE TRAILER????? I need to 163% integrate this into the story. Killer Billie is killer. Where to find Daud? Sorry Outsider, not sorry.Things you should know in advance:- It is not a serious fic.- I indeed intend to use LotR chapter titles for all my chapters.- I will try to align it somewhat with the game.





	1. The Shadow of the Past

Emily was too strung up and tired to feel much when she finally reached the Dreadful Whale. Her city, her very own city! Turned against her with no friendly face left. How easily the masses were swayed. And Corvo – she stopped her thoughts right there.

The Dreadful Whale was sizeable, but not a whaling ship for sure. Maybe a small freighter or, Emily frowned, a smuggling vessel. Not that she had much of a choice. Sneaking past the last guards under water, she climbed on board.

A one-eyed woman stood on the deck, watching her climb over the rail. Her right arm was amputated below the elbow, but she held herself like somebody used to fighting. To fighting and winning. Emily was ready to bet that the other party of that fateful fight looked a lot worse.

"Meagan Foster?"

"Your Majesty." Meagan did not sound the least bit surprised.

"You asked for an audience with my father, the Lord Protector." Emily produced the note. "I am afraid he cannot comply."

"And why would that be?"

"He has been turned into stone." Emily subdued her rage by taking a deep breath. "A witch named Delilah-"

"Her again."

"You know her?"

"I," Meagan hesitated, "a long time ago I tried her as an alley to overthrow my former boss."

Emily looked at the captain's missing eye and arm.

"No, that was later," Meagan chuckled. "But back in the day, well, let's just say it did not work out as planned. I thought she had been taken care of."

"Oh?" Emily's interest was piqued. "By who?"

"My former boss." Meagan fell silent. "Last I heard he had vanquished her."

"Vanquished maybe," Emily replied. "Killed? I think not."

"It does sound like the man I did leave behind," Meagan agreed.

"Well," Emily thought for a moment. "He did it once, he'll help me do it again."

"I don't think so," Meagan chucked again.

"Oh, you don't?" Emily bristled. "Give me his name and I'll make him."

Meagan's face transformed into mischievous glee. "As you wish, your Highness. His name is Daud. And I have no idea where he is."

That name hit Emily like a fist in the stomach. The murderer of her mother. The man that Corvo had inexplicably let live. The one person, well, probably not the only one by now, she would throttle on sight.

Well.

She would throttle that bridge when they reached it. Hopefully after he had handed her everything she needed to kill Delilah. Emily was almost sure she had that much self-control.

"Anyway," she finally said. "We will find him and I _will_ make him."

Meagan just smiled. "Good luck with that."

"Oh, you will also help," Emily insisted. "After all you have a ship and I don't."

"And what will I get out of this?" Meagan leant back.

"What do you need?" Emily asked back. "The audience with the Lord Protector? Granted. A new Ship? Sure. Pensions for crew members' families? No problem."

Meagan laughed. "I am sure I will think of something. Just know that Daud will be even less happy to see me than you if we find him."

"When," Emily corrected unthinking.

"And where do you propose we start looking?" Meagan was obviously not keen on being helpful.

"Where did you last see him?"

"Me? When I left Dunwall fifteen years ago."

"And what did you last hear about his whereabouts?"

"You really want to do this," Meagan, narrowed her eyes, scrutinising Emily. "Despite everything he has done."

"Call it delayed payback. Though he doesn't have to know that."

"And I won't tell him, of course?"

"You left him!"

"I made an unfortunate mistake that got me exiled," Meagan corrected. Emily was about to make an impatient retort when she continued. "Serkonos. The last I heard of him was that he wanted to return home."

"Excellent. Then that is where we will go. Set course for Karnaca."

Meagan did not move.

"Do you have a better idea?" Emily wanted to know. "Karnaca is the capital. With some luck it is also the centre of information."

"This is my ship," Meagan said. "I am the captain and I will give the orders. Is that understood?"

The two women started a staring contests that quickly degenerated into who would laughed last.

"Understood," Emily finally said with a smile.

"Good." Meagan inclined her head. "Anything else you want to bring? There's a small cabin below deck you can use."

Emily looked at the towering walls of Dunwall and her face became hard. She shook her head. "No." But she would get it back, all of it.


	2. The Land of Shadow

“ _No! Mommy!”_

The scream echoed through Billie’s nightmares. The scene changed, but the voice, the desperate sound of that plea never changed. Sometimes the girl tugging at her was young, dressed in white and trying desperately to get away. Sometimes she was dressed in red and grey, a knife ready in her hand and revenge written in her eyes.

Sometimes Billie was the girl herself, fighting against an unyielding grip to reach her own mother that was sunken into indifference. Alcohol had been able to dredge her up from that from time to time, but overall the indifference was easier to survive.

Billie closed her eyes again. But the scream remained. And it was not coming from inside her head. So that’s what you got for inviting your nightmares to your ship.

It did not stop. Billie got up reluctantly but it was what it was. A lifetime of this nightmare was enough. And now there were two on board of her ship. The stairs creaked their familiar tune as she descended from her cabin. This was her ship. She knew its sounds and this was a new one. One she had to look after. The cabin door was not locked. Billie was slightly surprised at that.

“Emily.”

The young woman shot upright at the gentle touch of her shoulder. He arms were raised half outstretched either to embrace or attack. Her eyes focussed on Billie. “Meagan?”

“Yeah.” Billie tried a smile. “You were having nightmares. Quite loudly.”

Emily looked embarrassed. A cute look on her. “I am sorry,” she finally said. “It has been a long time.”

She didn’t elaborate what had been a long time. That she had had nightmares or that she had that one or that she had been screaming in her sleep.

“Anything that will help?” Billie asked.

“Corvo,” Emily whispered. Then she closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’d better try to sleep again.”

“Sure.” Billie got up. “I you ever want to talk about it-” she cut herself off a little too late.

Emily looked up at her. It was clear that she wanted to talk about it but couldn’t either because she did not want to share this information or because she did not want Billie to know. If only she knew. Or neither of them did.

Billie left the cabin with a small nod. Maybe it had been the right moment to tell the young woman about her own involvement in the death of empress Jessamine Kaldwin. Of the hand that had held the Royal Protector at bay and snatched his daughter.

Billie wasn’t sure what had held her back. The truth would come to light. Emily would confront Daud about the murder and her role in it would come to light. She better tell her herself. What did she have to lose?

Thinking of those dark eyes clinging to her in despair, Billie felt that, quite unfortunately, she had more to lose than she had waned or expected. After Anton was safe, she told herself. She would tell Emily as soon as Anton was out of danger. It was as good a reason as any.

 

* * *

 

Going back to sleep was not easy. Emily turned and tried to be comfortable but it was a strange bed in a strange place. The ship’s noises were startling; it’s movement not as soothing as hearsay promised.

And then there was Meagan Foster. She had not told her, not really why she wanted to talk to Corvo. Something to do with the Crown Killer and Anton Sokolov. But why? Emily had been raised to be moderately suspicious. But the sudden betrayal by Duke Abele and Delilah’s unscrupulous takeover of Dunwall had made her suspicions sky-rocket.

Why would Meagan even care if she had nightmares? If she was just angry at the noise, why offer comfort? If that was what she had been doing. Emily put her arm over her eyes. It was probably unwise to trust Meagan, but right now the Captain of the Dreadful Wale was all she had.

A former assassin for Daud. Another name from her past that Emily had hoped never to hear again. The assassin had vanished from Dunwall after her abduction and nobody had heard from him again. Meagan said he had gone to Serkonos. From where the Crown Killer came. But what would drive a man as meticulous in his killings to turn that messy?

With another sigh, Emily turned to the side again, curling up. Sleep. She needed sleep. That would help her think, clear her mind, straighten out the tumbled mess of thoughts. Just when she was about to drift into the void of sleep, another drawn-out creak sounded from the bulkheads of the Dreadful Wale.

If this was no use, maybe she could do something useful. Emily got up. She found her door locked. With her heart beating in her throat she looked around. She was too easily betrayed, too quick to trust. What did Meagan plan to do? As her eyes roved over the furniture of the small cabin, her gaze fell onto a gaping hole in the hull.

That was not supposed to happen. Emily took a tentative step into the direction of the hole. It did not lead out to the water. Instead a was leading into nothing. Isles of broken buildings hung in the air. If it was air. Emily wasn’t even certain she was breathing.

The ground under her feet was like slate, grey and broken up along fault lines. The air, if indeed it was air, was suffused and grey. A light was before her unable to shine through the thick fog making up the horizon. Emily felt watched. Still she pressed on.

He materialised in a doorway in a flutter of black. Corvo had not spoken of him often and always reluctantly. Black Magic was not a proper field of study for an empress. But he had it and it boosted his skills immensely. Sometimes Emily had wondered what it would be like to have such power.

Surely it was not in itself bad. Corvo was living proof of that.

“Empress Emily Kaldwin.”

From Corvo’s vague descriptions Emily had expected great many things. The young man standing before he was nothing like any of it. He seemed almost lost, his features nondescript. Only his eyes, completely black, marked him as something else.

“I’m a friend of your father’s from the bad old days,” the Outsider introduced himself. “I never expected us to meet. I watched your mother die at the hands of schemers who wanted your little empire. Rescued by a man in a strange mask. I thought that was the end of the excitement.”

Emily bristled at her mother’s death being called excitement. Who was he to judge their lives nothing more than entertainment? It made sense that the Overseers did not want him worshipped.

“But someone yanked the rug from under your feet,” he went on. “You’ve lost your throne and your father. And I promise Delilah won’t just give them back.”

Again Emily held her tongue. The Outsider was a supernatural being. He knew things few or none else knew. And by now who her father was, was not really a secret any longer. And some suspected that there was more magic to him than met the eye. Emily wondered how the Void looked to him. Corvo had never described it as a monochrome smelling of musk, burnt pine needles and decaying leaves. Maybe it was different for him.

“So what are you prepared to do about it, your Imperial Majesty,” the Outsider asked. “And are you clever enough to do it without spilling a river of blood? I asked Corvo those questions fifteen years ago. This moment has changed him. Now it’s your turn.”

Emily’s head spun. There had been days when she had dreamt about this moment. Catching they eye of the Outsider himself and being granted power beyond what normal mortals knew, being confirmed special. And here she was.

Had she known what it took to be noticed, she would have reconsidered. It was too late now. Delilah had the throne. And the mark. So did Daud. How would she keep up with them just flesh and bones? Could she? And The Outsider had asked what she was willing to do.

Everything.

It was the only answer. Any doubt would have to bite on the granite example of Corvo. Good despite having the mark. She could follow his footsteps. He was her father. And she would have him back. Him and her whole empire.

Emily held out her hand.

It burned. The pattern she had glimpsed so often on the back of Corvo’s hand appeared on her own. She stared at it, the black of it stark against her skin. So this was it. She looked at the Outsider, a grey figure in his own grey world. What was he up to? Why would he grant his powers so readily to so many who were meant to clash? Excitement. Emily pinched her nose. If that was it, she needed to have a few pointed words with him when this was over. How did you kill a god?

When Emily woke, she couldn’t remember much of the rest of her dream. She had been running through the Void, crossing it in the fast forward moves she had seen her father execute a few times. And her mother’s heart. It was too creepy to think about. So she didn’t even though she felt its weight against her.

Some things just should not be.


End file.
